Often, his buddies would jokingly criticize him for his extra efforts because he out-shined them. Ramsey practically refused to take time away from work, showing up for extra duty even when on leave following his first deployment to Afghanistan.

“He showed up everybody,” Senior Airman Thomas Rentschler said.

Ramsey, 20, of Hesperia, Calif., died April 10 of wounds suffered from a noncombat-related incident in Kabul. He was a 2005 high school graduate — graduating early, of course — and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. He was on his second tour.

“He had a great personality. Happy go lucky, easygoing,” said Luke Chappell, who taught Ramsey printing and graphics for two semesters in 2005. “He did some very extraordinary work in the classroom.”

“Jacob was a very diligent student, a simply nice guy, respectful and considerate,” said Hesperia High English teacher Connie Moore, who taught Ramsey during his junior year.

“It would take more than a few words to express the amount of love he shared with all of us,” Senior Airman Joseph Whitmarsh said.